Hong Kong -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- In a further sign that China is edging ahead as the world 's dominant space power , Wang Yaping -- the second Chinese woman in space -- gave a physics lesson to school children from zero gravity .

Speaking through a video link from the Shenzhou-10 manned spacecraft to a class of middle school students in Beijing , Wang demonstrated the effects of zero gravity on water and a pendulum .

The blue-clad astronaut also showed how she could push a fellow astronaut into the wall of the module with touch of her finger and gulped down the drop of water as it floated in mid-air .

Mass audience

More than 60 million students across China watched the lecture on China 's state broadcaster CCTV as Wang demonstrated Newton 's second law of motion -LRB- force equals mass times acceleration -RRB- and the surface tension of water .

Wang fielded questions from students that ranged from whether the team had seen any space junk or even UFOs , to the efficacy of weight scales in space .

The demonstration drew a spirited response on social media in China , with comments on Weibo -- China 's equivalent of Twitter -- ranging from enthusiastic support for the country 's space program , to questioning the cost of the Shenzhou-10 program .

`` The U.S. used to be proud of their space class , -LRB- but -RRB- now we 've made it , too ! '' one user posted . `` We should be proud of this . What others have , we have it too . ''

Experimental space station

China launched three astronauts into space on board the Shenzhou-10 craft last week to dock with Tiangong-1 , an experimental space station used to test orbital rendezvous and docking capabilities .

It is China 's fifth manned mission to space in a decade .

While the space station only has a two-year operational lifespan , the development of a permanent space station is part of Beijing 's ambitious multi-billion dollar space plan , which is being hailed by the Communist Party as a symbol of China 's growing technical expertise .

China first sent a human into space in 2003 but is already planning to complete its space station by 2020 , and sometime afterwards land a man on the moon . Despite the ambitious space program , China still lags Russia and the U.S. and is still attempting to reach milestones achieved by the two superpowers decades ago .

Playing catch-up

Despite these limitations , China 's Tiangong-1 space station is half the size of the first space station , Salyut 1 , that the Soviets sent up in 1971 -- analysts say that China is able to take advantage of advances in spaceflight technology .

`` What we have seen more than anything else is a truly long-term commitment to space that dates back at least 25 years , and a sustained interest during those 25 years , '' Dean Cheng of the Heritage Foundation , a policy research group in Washington DC , told the New Scientist .

He said NASA 's human spaceflight program has struggled under changing budgets and governments while the Chinese space program had seen ordered and incremental progress since the 1990s .

`` So as long as the money holds out and political stability reigns , they might well get to some place like Mars or establish a lunar presence , precisely because they are persistent and willing to spend the money and make the effort , '' he said .

CNN 's Feng Ke in Beijing contributed to this report .

@highlight

Chinese astronaut Wang Yaping conducts a school lesson from space

@highlight

The astronaut addressed students through a live link-up from the Chinese space module

@highlight

Wang fielded questions about space junk , weighing mass in space and UFOs

@highlight

China has an ambitious space program that includes landing a man on the moon after 2020